Annual Pediatrician Appointment

We got there just a few minutes late…so I was feeling a little rushed. We got called in, and Mariella stepped on the scale to be weighed (37 lbs and change) and then was measured (43 inches) No measurable growth or gain.

Officially, she is in the 2.2 percentile for both height and weight. A couple months ago, she was in the 5th and 8th…so we’ve had a drop. I’m honestly not sure if it’s because she’s gotten older and not grown, or if it’s because she’s lost weight…I think it might be a little bit of both.

Otherwise, things look good. We talked about adding calories to her diet. The doctor knows I’m trying. We’re going to try doing Pediasure or Carnation Breakfast a couple times a day (in small amounts) The issue we had been finding is that it’s too filling, and she stops eating real food, because she’s full on liquid nutrition. I’m actually getting scared that they are going to suggest tube feeding or something. She TRIES to eat…but she gets full very fast, and her diet IS very limited.

Typical methods of “bulking up” for people who are underweight is to add cream and butter to everything. So scrambled eggs would be made with heavy cream and fried in butter. Mariella can’t really tolerate that. Fat slows the stomach down, so, for her already slow stomach, slowing it down more is detrimental.

We also discussed safety stuff (car seat…she has OK’d booster…not as ideal, due to her weight and height, but due to her age, and the fact that she is already quite ‘different’ from her friends; helmets when she rides bikes and scooters, etc)

The doctor and I discussed the thoughts on taking her off her inhaled steroids. I mentioned the new “school of thought” that it’s better to keep growing kids off of inhaled steroids, and just manage symptoms with increased bronchodilator use. She rolled her eyes at that, but did say she wasn’t an expert. She just thinks that breathing is more important than growth. We agreed to go with what Dr. Duda says about it. We’ll see him tomorrow.

Thanks Kerri…I’m feeling a bit blue and defeated about it today. Kind of like my best isn’t really good enough. I’ll get through it, and we’ll keep on keeping on. I guess I’ll be shopping for pediasure and instant breakfast this weekend.

For Mariella… if you’re thinking about something she might be willing to drink, I’d recommend Carnation Instant Breakfast. It tastes a -lot- better than Pediasure, I’ve always thought (back when I was on braces, I used to have to go on a liquid-only diet for a day or two after they tightened them because my mouth would hurt too much for solids). I always preferred the powdered kind over the premixed stuff because it was better…. If I was really needing something filling, I used to mix two packets in one glass. Probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but it worked.

Have you spoken with the Dr about maybe giving her Pediasure or full-fat milk or something with calories when she’s thirsty? For kid I knew with CF in one of the schools I went to, that was one of the ways they used to make sure he’d gain weight: they’d make sure even when he drank something, it had calories in it. Or is that a bad idea for M?

we’ve done it before…I do use 1% milk, only because it’s expensive to buy 2 kinds of milk, and no one else needs the full fat. I’ve just started her on half a bottle of pediasure with breakfast, and half with her afternoon snack…and it seems to be working for her. A full one all at once will fill her belly too much, so she won’t eat real food, which is important too.